The Warden Tracks Morrigan
by Mike Canary
Summary: The Warden won't abandon his child. Morrigan won't give hers up. Now the two are clashing, fighting deeply personal battles that will effect all of the world. Will the Warden correct his mistake? And was it a mistake?


_**So, this is my first Dragon Age story. Please review and tell me what you think, and whether more should be written.**_

_**This story takes place in the months between the Final Battle and the Awakening Expansion. I tried to make it vague so everyone could relate their characters to it. There are some specifics though. This Warden was not a mage, he romanced Leliana and Morrigan, but eventually broke off from Leliana, despite their love. Morrigan's offer caught him by suprise, leaving him feeling used and guilty for cheating on Leliana. Now, months afterwards, the Warden hunts Morrigan.**_

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The cold bit at the Warden, gnawing through the metal armor he wore. A thin cloak tried in vain to ward off the biting winds, but it was haggard and thin as its owner. Everything the Warden owned was thus. Even his armor was pitted and scarred, weathered from years of battle even before the Warden had taken his first steps; hand-me-down acquired by him on his travels. Dirt and stains marred it's surface, though not a speck of rust was there to lessen its effectiveness.

His weapons were equally worn from use, but well maintained. Attached to the back of the silvery metal armor was a longbow of Dalish make and a quiver of arrows fletched arrows. The carefully maintained and oiled wood had a dull gleam to it. Thrust into a pocket of the quiver was a gently curved dagger, a gift from the Warden's father before he'd left on his journey.

From both sides of his hips, a weapon hung ready for use. On the left hip, a longsword, elegantly curved and made of the strongest dragonbone, clattered against its sheath as though anxious to escape and defend the Warden and smite his enemies. On the right hip, a single sided axe wielded by the ancients hung limply, deceivingly weak and beautiful.

The Warden continued, plowing a path through the knee deep snow. He had folded his mind back, falling into a steady rhythm of footsteps and crunching snow. Whatever trail he could have followed had long sense disappeared, but the Warden wasn't following a trail. Not anymore. He'd left civilized Ferelden a month ago, following rumors and faint whisperings of fact. Here, in the Frostback Mountains, the Warden had finally sensed what he'd been searching for.

As he continued, he thought back to his companions, of their loyalty and courage. Of their love. Of one's betrayal. The Warden unconsciously fingered the ring beneath his gloves.

Sten will have returned to his people by now, which was disappointing. Out of them all, he wished he could have brought him along the most. Not out of any misguided sense of loyalty or particular wish to stay with him, but because the Warden knew that Sten would have been the most useful for this, if only because he would do what was necessary.

He could have asked Alistair to help. The former Templar's abilities could have come in handy. However, the man was king now and the Warden could no longer simply drag the man across Thedas on a whim or suspicion. Not anymore.

He considered asking Shale or Zevran. At the very least, neither of them would shy away from this. But in the end, the Warden had decided to go it alone. And Oghren…well, Oghren was almost certainly still passed out in Denerim.

Leliana would have come. The Warden could have been going anywhere, and Leliana would have been willing to follow. When she'd asked after the celebration to accompany him, he had been sorely tempted to accept. He'd longed to just wander Thedas, just the two of them. His heart ached when he told her no; that he wished to travel alone for a time. Because this was something he needed to do.

His entire life, the Warden had always done what was necessary. No more, no less. He had rigidly controlled his emotions, making hard decisions, but always toeing that moral line. He'd lied, cheated, stolen, murdered and outright fought his way through the Blight. It had been necessary to weld the people of Ferelden into a shield against the Darkspawn. Sometimes, he'd been forced to make people do terrible things; things they didn't want to do. But it's not like the Warden chose his own life.

No. Leliana couldn't come because this was another thing where the Warden would not get to chose. Another time where he would maybe have to do what was necessary.

The Warden was closer now. He could feel it. Normally, a Warden could sense darkspawn through the taint. It was as if the darkspawn had a hive mind, and the Warden had joined it. Normal people though were invisible to that sense. Without the taint, a Warden could not sense them anymore than a normal person.

But this person had a taint, whether she realized it or not. The Warden was close now. The plateau of flat snow was being broken now by the occasional stone more frequently, with large boulders and small cliffs starting to rise from the white.

And there it was. A simple cave opening like a maw from the ground. It was pitch black inside and as the Warden stood outside he searched his pockets for flint with which to light a fire. When he found it though, it was soaked wet from the snow.

_Damn._ He thought irritably. Walking into a dark cave like that was certainly not in the plan. The Warden never fought a battle without careful planning when he could help it. He preferred to win the fight before it had even started. Spontaneous fights were losing fights.

Still, he needed to press onwards. Wherever this cave led, his target was below. The answer to his obsession. And maybe something more.

The Warden descended into the darkness, feeling his way along the passage ways of the cavern. The walls were smooth, not jagged or broken like many of the caves he'd been in. He kept sweeping his left foot across the ground in front of him, but felt no obstacles.

His sharp eyes could only barely make out anything in the darkness. A normal person would have been completely blind, but the Warden's taint gave him far greater abilities than normal people. It wasn't long before he could pick up the faint glimmer of light in the cave, the reflections of it bouncing off the unnaturally smooth walls. And finally, he came to it.

It was a massive opening, an open room the end of the cavern. The room widened, its vaulted ceiling and walls giving what looked like a circle one hundred yards in every direction. And in the center of it all, a campfire lit and a hunched over figure. Taking an exhausted breathe, the Warden advanced across the distance between them, his footsteps dead silent and stealthy.

He reached for his longsword, then stopped. The sheathe was metal, and would probably scrap alerting the figure to his presence. Instead, the Warden reached over his back for the dagger holstered in the rough leather quiver. He drew it quietly, hefting it.

He was close now, and the figure was mere yards away. The Warden lowered his weapon, holding it at his side, ready to thrust into a lethal point in the figure. Then he stopped. She knew. He could feel it.

"Well Warden," Morrigan turned, her shadowed eyes small pinpricks of light in the dark, "Tis strange that you managed to find me."

"It was far easier than you'd think." The Warden raised his hand, removing his armored glove and showing her the small twisted wring on his finger. "You gave me this ring, and I can feel you with it. Not to mention," He continued, replacing the glove, "That I can sense the archdemons' taint within you."

Morrigan laughed, sharp and derisively. "Oh, you poor deluded fool. Do you think it is the archdemos taint you sense?"

The Warden hesitated. Had he been wrong? Wordlessly, he lowered the dagger.

"Explain."

Morrigan turned about completely now, getting to her feet. She held her staff in her hand, but it was lowered and angled at the ground, unthreatening. It was only then that, despite his own assurances that she was pregnant, both through his connection to her ring and the darkspawn taint, she looked as thin and healthy as the eve of their final battle.

"You fail to realize the purpose behind Flemeth's plan." Morrigan said looking at her nails as if only mildly interested in the whole affair.

"And what is that?" The Warden challenged, now drawing his longsword as well, hefting it into a ready stance.

"Well, I can honestly say I don't know." Morrigan stepped forward, now closer to the Warden then he cared to think about. "And now such answers are lost anyways, gone with that wretched woman. But I can guess that you want to find out. And so would I."

Her voice had gone soft, her eyes like a lambs, crying crocodile tears. She sweeped his arms away and pressing against him, her arms going around his waist. A year ago, the Warden may have fallen for such a thing. But not now.

"I came for our child Morrigan." He snapped gently, but firmly pushing her away.

"Hmm, what is with you and your obsession with this unborn child?" Her voice had turned sour and snappish. "And why may I ask do you carry a weapon and such evil intent when all you wish is your child?" She turned slowly, walking towards the fire till she was naught but a dark silhouette. "I warned you to stay away."

"I couldn't."

Morrigan whirled suddenly, her ragged robes flapping about her. "So what then!" She snapped, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Will you throw away the life I've given you? I saved you from having to make a terrible choice. Do not think I will allow you to disobey me."

The Warden said nothing for a moment, and then just laughed grimly. "I'm living on borrowed time like any other Grey Warden. When you first came to me with your offer, I was overjoyed. None of the Grey Wardens would need to be sacrificed. I could hand over control of the Wardens to Riordin, Ferelden to Alastair, and I could retire, perhaps live somewhere alone with Leliana."

Morrigan flinched, as if she'd been slapped. The Warden shook his head again, sadness in his eyes. Did she expect him to merely wait for her, or to turn a blind eye to the fact that he'd been used.

"I love you…and I love Leliana. Making that choice was one of the hardest decisions of my life. But," He looked Morrigan level in the eyes, "I love my child as well, and I will not abandon it."

"A child you've never known, a child that is hardly a child any longer." Morrigan rolled her eyes and pursed her lips. "So, will you pursue me across Thedas, never resting?"

"That's the plan." The Warden said with one of his old cocky grins that so rarely blessed his face these days.

"It will be hard to find a shapeshifter." Morrigan warned dangerously.

"I found you already, didn't I? No reason I can't do it again."

"You would throw the life I gave you away pursuing me?" She remarked incredulously. "Are you mad!"

But the Warden just laughed. It sounded dangerously close to insane. But then, obsession always was.

"Not yet. At lease I hope not." He sighed, letting his shoulders drop heavily. "I've realized something the past couple weeks Morrigan."

"Alas, I really do not care to hear it."

"But you will, no matter what." The Warden looked up at Morrigan as she seemed to loom over him. "I wanted to live after you left. I tried to use the gift you gave me. But you know what," He raised his hands helplessly, "Men aren't meant to be happy. We're wired against it."

"What's this nonsense?" Morrigan snorted angrily.

"No, it's true. The whole time during our journeys, I tried to cope with the decisions I made by drinking, carousing, and trying to live like there was no tomorrow. I tried to save as many lives as possible, and that meant a part of me died. And no matter what, I'll end up doing those things again, because that's who I am."

"Enough!" Morrigan roared, raising her staff like a weapon. The Warden was taken aback. He'd never seen her like this. Had he struck a weak point in her armor?

"I'm sorry." The Warden said simply. He holstered his dagger back into his belt, holding his sword with his right hand, drawing his axe with his left. "I really am."

"Will you kill your own child?" Morrigan asked with large doe eyes.

"It may be a mercy. Remember," The Warden said stoically, "I do what's necessary. Always."

"Ha, you have just angered a very powerful, very pregnant woman. " Morrigan held her staff, and it suddenly glowed eerily. "I hope you're prepared."

"Always."

And they stood there for a time, neither moving a muscle. It was quiet. Not even a whisper of disturbed air. Then, they moved.

The Warden flew forward, his cloak snapping behind him, his weapons raised. He slashed forward with the longsword, planning to behead her and end it quickly. But Morrigan was too nimble, and was already spinning backwards, her staff making a slashing gesture. A wave of frozen air flashed from it, striking the Warden.

His right arm was struck, frozen solid, the longsword frosted to his hand. He landed, drawing the axe on his right hip with his left hand, swinging it upward in an arc that nearly took Morrigan's head off.

Despite his wounded hand, the Warden attacked, his axe narrowly missing the nimble witch in each swing, keeping her off balance. If the axe struck just once the massive blade may be enough to kill her.

But his attacks were to no avail. She back flipped away, sending bolts of green energy bulleting towards him. The Warden ducked away, using an outcropping of rock as cover. He drew a small tomb from his pocket, murmured a few words, and held the small symbol to his injured arm. The stone caught fire and quickly melted the ice, freeing his arm.

But the Warden had been distracted for too long and was suddenly thrown away as the rock behind him exploded into flame. Morrigan charged through the flame, as shimmering shield of energy protecting her and a longsword in her hand. The Warden tried to rise to his feet, but she was on her.

Only a desperate parry with his longsword saved him from being skewered. She pressed on him with her sword, pushing him back onto one knee, her magic lending strength to her wiry arms. Instinctively, the Warden let his body go limp. Morrigan let out a small snarl of surprise as her momentum brought her forward. The Warden braced against the ground, rolling backwards and taking Morrigan with her. He kicked upwards, throwing her over him and into the cave wall behind him.

The Warden leapt to his feet, drawing his dagger as he did, and whirled, hurling the weapon at her. The weapon thudded into her arm, pinning it to the wall. She howled as blood began to drip down the blade.

"Gotcha." The Warden murmured with a grim smile. He charged the struggling Morrigan, carving downwards with his axe. Morrigan pulled once, twice, and barely broke free, spinning to the Warden's left. The axe thudded into empty stone. The Warden spun, swinging his sword backhanded and nearly taking Morrigan's head off.

The witch turned and ran, the Warden in hot pursuit. Morrigan sprinted, jumped, and suddenly ran up the curved wall and leapt off, firing a blast of fire at the Warden. The cone of fire consumed the Warden, singeing him, his armor smoking heavily…but he did not stop. If he was gonna end it now was the time.

He came at her savagely, driven by a primal rage to fix his own mistake. She would come back with him or she would die here, there was no middle ground. He fell on her in a fury, his longsword weaving a web of steel about her.

Morrigan fled, calling her own longsword to her hand as she did with a bust of magic. It smacked into her hand before the Warden could stop it. She leapt, spinning through the air like an acrobat, her staff firing magic wildly. The Warden continued advancing, dodging left, then right in a wild charge, before one bolt clipped his hip, causing him to stumble.

The Witch took advantage of his distraction, throwing herself at him like an animal. Seconds later, her shifting form changed to match. As a massive bear, she landed on him, her hands, now paws the size of his head, pinning his shoulders to the floor.

The Warden had one chance. Murmuring a few words, he twisted his wrist back and tapped a small point on the cuff of his armor. It suddenly surged with energy and the runes located along the arms glowed. Morrigan jerked backwards, her form already shifting back to human uncontrollably.

"What did you do!" She cried in agony as sparkling electricity traveled up and down her body.

"Magic is a fascinating study, even for those of us without innate ability." He tapped some one of the runes covering his armor and strength began flowing back into his limbs. "After you revealed much about its workings, often unknowingly, I decided to experiment in crafting my own runes." The Warden threw out another one of his roguish smiles that she found so infinitely irritating.

Morrigan was tired now, much of her energy wasted fighting her own limbs constant thrashing. The Warden on the other hand had planned for a long, arduous fight. He'd spent much of his own fortune (often accepting generous 'donations') having his weapons and armor upgraded solely to fight Morrigan. It was paying off.

The Warden raised his longsword, grasping it in two hands before advancing. The Witch was off balance, her parries and blocks becoming more wild and desperate. Twice, the Warden nearly ended the fight, but she saved herself once with a clever trick of magic, the next with pure luck.

But this fight could not go on forever. The Warden of all people knew that. Even the runes in his armor were now straining to supply his limbs with strength.

The Warden darted forward; thrusting a small stab low towards Morrigan's left leg. She slammed her staff on the ground to block it, but the Warden simply flicked the sword up at the last minute, letting it's flat side slide past the hardened wood and instead leave a long gash on the inside of her leg.

Morrigan gasped suddenly and stumbled as if in terrible pain. She should be of course. The Magebane poison the Warden had slathered his weapon in beforehand made sure of that. Even now, the poison was purging the magic from her system.

Wordlessly, the Warden raised a foot and kicked her to the ground heavily. She landed with a dull thud as any air remaining in her lungs was forced out.

"Give up Morrigan." The Warden raised his weapon to her throat. He knew it was foolhardy, but he could not just execute her without one last chance. "You know I can sense your weakness. You barely have any energy left."

She laughed, her limp body still lying there. Then, impossibly, she began struggling to her feet.

"Impossible." The Warden murmured in a horrified voice, but it was true. Through their connection, he could feel it. Morrigan was suddenly growing stronger.

Yet, she was not drawing from some outside force. She was drawing it from within.

"A pity." As she began to rise, and suddenly tower over the Warden. Desperately, he thrust at her center mass with all his might, but the blade simply bounced off her rapidly hardening skin.

Suspecting what was coming next, the Warden ran, sprinting full speed towards the wall. His legs were suddenly swept out from under him by what he realized was a long, barbed tail. He stumbled back to his feet, yanking both his dagger and axe from their place in the wall just in time to turn and see Morrigan, now a fully fledged High Dragon, opening her mouth to spew flame across the enclosed cave.

The Warden had readied his armor against fire attacks, but the flames of a High Dragon would cook him inside his armor like an oven. So, the Warden didn't wait. As Morrigan reared back his head, the Warden leapt, digging his dagger deep into her exposed chest. He smiled. She was obviously not used to this form, otherwise she would have better protected herself.

Sheathing his sword as she roared in pain, he drew back with his axe and carved forward, embedding it high into her chest, burying it up to the handle in her collarbone. She roared doubly loud, this time releasing fire involuntarily, but the Warden was too close to hit now.

High Dragon Morrigan opened her claws wide now, as if to clap and crush the Warden like a bug. Not waiting, the Warden pulled up, using both his weapons as climbing tools and propelling himself up. He struck again with the dagger, but used it to vault himself over Morrigan's shoulder and onto her back, where her wings buffeted him wildly.

The Warden gritted his teeth and held on for dear life now, stabbing every part of the dragon's back that he could find, burying his axe into her again and again. Morrigan roared and howled, making movements that would have bucked a lesser person. Finally, her tail swept back, throwing him from her back and into a heap next to her.

For a moment, both the combatants simply sat, breathing and wheezing heavily. Then they turned to face each other.

This was it, the end of the line.

One more move each.

Morrigan's head snapped forward like a snakes, jagged daggers in her mouth ready to impale him in an iron maiden. The Warden didn't retreat or dodge. He simply raised his dagger and brought it down with all his might, ramming it home and threw Morrigan's right eye. She roared and tried to pull away, but the Warden pulled back with the dagger, wrestling her head to the ground.

He drew his longsword now, flipping it about so it held in his fist like a down pointing knife, and rammed it too through the High Dragon's head, piercing the other eye. As Morrigan roared again, the Warden was pleased to see that both weapons had penetrated through her eyes, and met deep in the back of her mouth.

For a moment, the dragon swayed there, disoriented and confused. Then, Dragon Morrigan slumped down to the ground.

The Warden stood, hunched over in a terrible combination of pain, grief, and exhaustion. Then he fell forward, his head lying inches from the pierced head of the dragon. He faded in and out of consciousness, time seemed to slow.

However, the next thing he remembered was awaking next to, not a dragon's vicious maw, but Morrigan's face. His former lovers.

"I feel like the last time we woke up like this it was under similar conditions." He joked as she began to stir. She did not smile.

"Why are you doing this?" She murmured sadly. Her shapeshifting combined with her own healing powers had perfectly healed her face, but left her drained of energy.

The Warden shook his head, as if waving away an irritating thought. He didn't know why, and thinking about it now, with his head floating and his body exhausted, would not help. Yet, he struggled for an answer.

"I don't know." He finally admitted. "But I know I will keep pursuing you, until you kill me."

"Or something else does." She said pointedly. The Warden just laughed.

"Like that'll ever happen." He smiled at her before pushing himself to his feet. She followed warily, ready for him to turn and strike.

"Calm down. I can't beat you. Not now. Maybe some other day."

Morrigan nodded, no doubt realizing their fight was over. Semreh dusted himself off once to his feet, avoiding Morrigan's eyes as they stood in silence, the fires from their fight still providing some faint light.

The Warden felt the taint strengthening suddenly and, to his horror. He was suddenly aware that the taint he was following was not Morrigan herself, but rather something else. He whirled towards the entrance, and saw the tunnel was crowded by darkspawn of all sizes and shape, all milling about in a desperate urge to enter the tunnel.

The Warden began reaching for his weapons, but Morrigan stayed his hand, simply raising her own hands and murmuring something. One by one, the darkspawn retreated back into the darkness.

"They aren't retreating." Morrigan stated very matter-of-factly. "I can sense something different about them."

The Warden nodded. "How do you control them?"

Morrigan ignored him, already moving towards the entrance. The Warden let her go, watching her back fade into the darkness. He had several theories, none of which could be confirmed. But he knew his son had something to do with the changes in Morrigan. Her increased power, her control over the darkspawn…

The Warden sighed heavily, exhausted. Gathering his weapons, he strode towards the door. He'd find Morrigan again, but he had other duties now. The Warden's were gathering at Vigil's Keep, and as the chief Warden and hero of Ferelden, the Warden was to lead them.

As he finally broke from the entrance to the cave and reached the surface, he was surprised to see the snowstorm had broken, and a shining sun was blinding him. He raised a hand to his face, shielding his eyes, but for several moments, his world was pure light.

The Warden wordlessly shouldered his pack, trudging back through his already disappearing tracks. He had work to do.

_**I hope ya'll enjoyed! Please Review, as it will give me a good idea of whether I should write anymore.**_


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